Shentov, Ognjan V

Phil Hoff is a native of Turner Falls, Massachusetts. He attended local public schools and in 1942 entered Williams College. After completing his freshman year Phil enlisted in the navy and saw combat action in the submarine service in the South Pacific. After the war Phil returned to Williams and graduated in 1948. In that same year he married Joan Brower. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1951 and moved to Burlington, Vermont to commence the practice of law.

In 1960 Phil was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he gained influence as part of a freshman caucus known as the "Young Turks." In 1962 he ran a successful campaign for Governor against the Republican incumbent. His election made history, as Phil was the first Democrat to hold that office in 108 years. Phil's success was confirmed as he was re-elected in 1964 and 1966. Phil's administration was energetic and reform minded. Among his many accomplishments Phil helped end the outdated Overseer of the Poor system of welfare administration, he founded the Vermont District Court, the Judicial Nominating Board and Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. He co-founded the Vermont- New York Youth Project with New York City Mayor John Lindsay.

Phil has remained active in politics running for the United States Senate in 1970, and serving as an adviser to New York City Mayor Abe Beame. In 1982, he returned to elective politics, serving in the Vermont State Senate and winning re-election in 1984 and 1986. While in the Senate he revitalized the Vermont Human Rights Commission. Phil has long been committed to the cause of civil liberties, serving for many years on the Vermont Advisory Commission to the United States Civil Rights Commission.

He has been active in the legal profession, chairing a blue-ribbon commission that reformed the Vermont Bar Exam in 1982 and recommended adoption of Vermont's continuing legal education requirement. He co-founded this law firm in 1989.